COLFAX TWP— A local farmer is going solar — converting sunlight into electricity to power everything from the lights in his shop to his welder.

In early December, Eric Miller had solar panels installed on the roof of his shed, but not before doing plenty of research and learning how solar power could not only benefit the environment, but save him thousands of dollars each year.

The large solar cells on the south side of Miller’s shop work together to generate power.

What Miller said he likes about solar power is its low maintenance, as there’s very little wear and tear over time and there’s no impact on the people who live around him.

“If you’re not looking for the panels, you might not even notice they’re there (on the roof of the shop),” he said. “Wind turbines, which have been pretty popular in the past few years in the surrounding areas, for instance, have caused a few issues with neighbors who are unhappy with the noise or the appearance of them. What I liked about (solar) is I can put it on my property, I don’t have to work around it in a field somewhere, it doesn’t bother the neighbors and I still get the benefit.”

Miller began to learn about solar energy when he met Sridhar Ayer, president and chief executive officer of Artisan Consulting in Rochester Hills, in the fall of 2009 when Ayer stopped by Miller’s farm located along South Pinnebog Road.

“I didn’t know anything about farming,” said Ayer, who laughed about his first meeting with Miller. “Eric told me it is harvest time — not a good time to come interrupt a farmer’s day.”

Ayer said he returned to Huron County on the weekends to talk with Miller about the benefits of solar energy while learning more about farming in the Thumb area.

“One day, he said he had a bunch of questions for me. He took out his calculator and was figuring, then he took out his checkbook and wrote a check,” Ayer said.

Miller applied in October 2009 for DTE Energy’s solar energy program.

“We got the approval from DTE after two weeks,” Ayer said. “In the approval process, DTE looks to make sure (he) has a high enough energy usage. They make sure the need matches up with the generator he is applying for. Once they check all that, they send the approval back. Then it takes about two weeks to order the materials.”

In November 2009, Miller submitted the paperwork back to DTE and let it know the building inspection was done.

“Under the Solar Currents Program for DTE, there’s an incentive for folks like Eric to put a system in, and he also gets paid for generating electricity using the solar system,” Ayer explained. “DTE signed a 20-year contract with him (Miller) to pay for electricity as long as he uses the solar system generator.”

In addition to the DTE incentive, Miller was able to take advantage of the federal tax credit.

“There’s some pretty big savings involved with installing a system like this,” said Ayer. “This is something available for residential and commercial buildings. DTE is giving incentives for up to 20- kilowatt systems.”